China, India may seek to meddle in election – Canada

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The Canadian intelligence service stated on Monday that China and India are likely to attempt interference in the upcoming national election on April 28, with Russia and Pakistan also having the potential to do so.

These remarks from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service come at a time when Canada’s relations with both India and China are reportedly tense.

In response, both Beijing and New Delhi have denied previous claims of interference.

A government investigation, released in a final report in January, revealed that Canada was slow to respond to attempts by China and India to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections. However, the investigation found that their interference did not affect the results of those elections.

Vanessa Lloyd, Deputy Director of Operations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), shared during a press briefing that hostile nations are increasingly using artificial intelligence to interfere with elections.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” she said.

Earlier this month, China imposed tariffs on Canadian agricultural and food products worth over $2.6 billion in retaliation for tariffs that Canada had placed on Chinese electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum last year.

Canada condemned China last week after it executed four Canadian citizens for drug smuggling charges and strongly opposed the use of the death penalty.

When asked for a response to the CSIS’s comments during a regular press briefing on Tuesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stated that China has always followed the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and had no interest in meddling in Canada’s internal matters.

Last year, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, including the head of mission, following allegations of their involvement in a plot against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes,” said Lloyd.

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